How to tell if you're not getting a lemon?

personally, i do think it asking a bit much of the kit lens to handle the inside/dark photo with no flash.
as you've found out, the 50/1.8 is not the best at low light autofocus - that's about the only problem i have with mine otherwise it serves me pretty well for what i use it for & it's probably my most used lens considering it's value to the rest of my gear.
i don't get terrible or noticable fringing from mine though.
i doubt you'll get perfect pin sharp images though shooting inside in dark conditions at 1.8, 1/50 shutter, and 6400 ISO esp of people.

why is flash not an option?

LeeRatters wrote in post #12451279
personally, i do think it asking a bit much of the kit lens to handle the inside/dark photo with no flash.
as you've found out, the 50/1.8 is not the best at low light autofocus - that's about the only problem i have with mine otherwise it serves me pretty well for what i use it for & it's probably my most used lens considering it's value to the rest of my gear.
i don't get terrible or noticable fringing from mine though.
i doubt you'll get perfect pin sharp images though shooting inside in dark conditions at 1.8, 1/50 shutter, and 6400 ISO esp of people.

why is flash not an option?

It's far too intrusive. I already have a camera that I am pointing at peoples faces. I don't need them to be blinded by a direct flash or a bounce flash. No one wants to be like, "Wtf was that? Lightning?" when they're in the room. It's dark and you're basically lighting it up randomly for milliseconds...

I'm really finding the lack of full time manual focus and how crappy the focus ring is, how little much the camera can change the focus and all that very problematic. The camera shifts between two little notches because that's all it can adjust by and the image can still be blurry because it's not on the subject correctly.

LONETRAVELER wrote in post #12444979
On the extreme side, here in San Diego someone put of a Craiglist's posting selling a laptop. When the guy got there, 3 teens robbed him of his cash and cell phone. They leave in a car. He follows them to get the plates. They end up shooting and killing him.

WOW...im out here in SD too and I pratically live on craigslist, I've sold and bought so many items off there. Reading this has definitely made me more aware.

TridenTBoy wrote in post #12451290
I'm really finding the lack of full time manual focus and how crappy the focus ring is, how little much the camera can change the focus and all that very problematic. The camera shifts between two little notches because that's all it can adjust by and the image can still be blurry because it's not on the subject correctly.

Get a mk1 maybe? or for abit more a 1.4

TridenTBoy wrote in post #12451193
... Oh, and a serious problem was it was hunting for focus WAY too often! Literally I'd hold down the button and it'd hunt for well over a second!

Have you tried MF rather than AF?

edofloat wrote in post #12451696
Have you tried MF rather than AF?

MF on the 1.8 is laughable. There's almost no play at all.

TridenTBoy wrote in post #12448785
Picture of a girl who modeled for me as she crossed the street: http://img19.imageshac​k.us/img19/5777/img049​8s.jpg Her friend was wondering WTF she was doing as she walked. :P

The question is.....what did you do AFTER you took the photo.

Trident, I mentioned on AT forums that you need to focus on something that will HELP your camera.

Do a little reading about AF points and how crosspoint AF works. They look for a contrast. Imagine holding your finger in front of your eye. now when there's an intersection of good contrast that passes your finger perpendicularly, you can get good AF there.

So that's why we say focus on eyebrows if you're struggling in low light. If you point at someone's hair, you're not gonna get the best AF especially if they're dark haired to begin with. Take any camera and point it at the ceiling of your room. A white ceiling cannot AF well. Even if its textured my 7D cannot do it well because it's dim.

Second of all, you need to look into back button AF for your dark shooting. You don't want it to constantly hunt:

http://www.learn.usa.c​anon.com …ckbutton_af_art​icle.shtml

I shot a 50 1.8 for 6 months before I broke it. It's solid. You don't need to worry about FTM or any of those other things. For what you're doing it's FINE. Learn to use it properly and you'll AF just fine.

BTW to other posters here, Trident is known as a troll on AT forums. Let's hope he doesn't turn into one here It has to do with something and not taking people's advice and not thinking a little more... something that's already becoming obvious in this thread.

dmo580 wrote in post #12454194
Trident, I mentioned on AT forums that you need to focus on something that will HELP your camera.

Do a little reading about AF points and how crosspoint AF works. They look for a contrast. Imagine holding your finger in front of your eye. now when there's an intersection of good contrast that passes your finger perpendicularly, you can get good AF there.

So that's why we say focus on eyebrows if you're struggling in low light. If you point at someone's hair, you're not gonna get the best AF especially if they're dark haired to begin with. Take any camera and point it at the ceiling of your room. A white ceiling cannot AF well. Even if its textured my 7D cannot do it well because it's dim.

Second of all, you need to look into back button AF for your dark shooting. You don't want it to constantly hunt:

http://www.learn.usa.c​anon.com …ckbutton_af_art​icle.shtml

I still don't know what the heck back button shooting means after reading that. :/ Also my subjects are almost always in motion. They get out of focus super fast at the aperture required to make pictures not darkness.

ultimachi wrote in post #12453680
The question is.....what did you do AFTER you took the photo.

TridenTBoy wrote in post #12454204
I still don't know what the heck back button shooting means after reading that. :/ Also my subjects are almost always in motion. They get out of focus super fast at the aperture required to make pictures not darkness.

What shutter speeds are you getting right now in your shots?

TridenTBoy wrote in post #12454204
I still don't know what the heck back button shooting means after reading that...

He means back button focusing.
It's when you set the * button to be your primary source of focus as opposed to half pressing the shutter button.

Do a forum search for back button focus.
It's been discussed plenty.

dmo580 wrote in post #12454220
What shutter speeds are you getting right now in your shots?

1/50 at lowest I think for these low light situations. That's ISO 6400 too, f1.8

I'm saying when I am focusing on the subject they move.

EDIT: Example of people not moving much. At this ISO I think there is almost no detail possible? (1/50, 1.8, 6400, 50mm)
http://img689.imagesha​ck.us/img689/9421/img0​793b.jpg

TridenTBoy wrote in post #12454237
1/50 at lowest I think for these low light situations. That's ISO 6400 too, f1.8

I'm saying when I am focusing on the subject they move.

And are they moving in and out of focus that much? I've done dance photos before and it's like they spin, move, turn, slide left right, move forward back, but it's not like they're charging at me. At most within a 2 second timespan where I focus, shoot, they haven't moved that much in terms of "away" from me.

Are you getting a full body shot or just head and shoulders? How close are you getting?

dmo580 wrote in post #12454256
And are they moving in and out of focus that much? I've done dance photos before and it's like they spin, move, turn, slide left right, move forward back, but it's not like they're charging at me. At most within a 2 second timespan where I focus, shoot, they haven't moved that much in terms of "away" from me.

Are you getting a full body shot or just head and shoulders? How close are you getting?

It depends. I'm trying to get full body or at least torso and above. Either way, it's hard for this thing to focus in low light. I'd have to demo it to you guys for you to believe me.

A room with a few strands of christmas lights is not a very bright room...

Gotcha. Are you using single point AF? I suggest center point.

If they're moving left and right which is also changing distance, you need to learn how to pan. If they're moving towards and away from you like straight at you, your camera is really gonna strugle.

You can try AI Servo, but in low light itll suck.

You're not really gonna get way better performance with say a 1D or a faster lens. Center point AF is pretty solid on ANY camera because its not only a crosstype but also extra sensitive.